单选题 The idea of humanoid robots is not new. They have been part of the imaginative landscape ever since Karl Capek, a Czech writer, first dreamed them up for his 1921 play "Rossum's Universal Robots", (The word "robot" comes from the Czech word for drudgery, robota.) Since then, Hollywood has produced countless variations on the theme, from the sultry False Maria in Fritz Lang's silent masterpiece "Metropolis" to the withering C-3PO in "Star Wars" and the ruthless assassin of "Terminator". Humanoid robots have walked into our collective subconscious, coloring our views of the future.
But now Japan's industrial giants are spending billions of yen to make such robots a reality. Their new humanoids represent impressive feats of engineering: when Honda introduced Asimo, a four-foot robot that had been in development for some 15 years, it walked so fluidly that its white, articulated exterior seemed to conceal a human, Honda continues to make the machine faster, friendlier and more agile. Last October, when Asimo was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh, it walked on to the stage and accepted its own plaque.
At two and a half feet tall, Sony's ORIO is smaller and more toy-like than Asimo. It walks, understands a small number of voice commands, and can navigate on its own. If it falls over, it gets up and resumes where it left off. It can even connect wirelessly to the internet and broadcast what its camera eyes can see. In 2003, Sony demonstrated an upgraded QRIO that could run. Honda responded last December with a version of Asimo that runs at twice the speed.
In 2004, Toyota joined the fray with its own family of robots, called Partner, one of which is a four-foot humanoid that plays the trumpet. Its fingers work the instrument's valves, and it has mechanical lungs and artificial lips. Toyota hopes to offer a commercial version of the robot by 2010. This month, 50 Partner robots will act as guides at Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan.
Despite their sudden proliferation, however, humanoids are still a mechanical minority. Most of the world's robots are faceless, footless and mute. They are bolted to the floors of factories, stamping out ear pails or welding pieces of metal, making more machines. According to the United Nations, business orders for industrial robots jumped 18% in the first half of 2004. They may soon be outnumbered by domestic robots, such as self-navigating vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers and window washers, which are selling fast. But neither industrial nor domestic robots are humanoid.

单选题 In paragraph 1 the author introduces his topic by relating ______.

A. the idea of humanoid robots
B. Karl Capek's creation of robots.
C. Hollywood's production of robot films
D. the origin of and popular movies about robots

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 题目问：在文章第一段中，作者是如何介绍他的话题的？作者在第一段“The idea of humanoid robots is not new. They have been part of the imaginative landscape ever since Karl Capek, a Czech writer, first dreamed them up for his 1921 play "Rossum's Universal Robots." (The word "robot" comes from the Czech word for drudgery, robota.) Since then, Hollywood has produced countless variations on the theme.”通过这句话可知，为了引出“Humanoid robots”，文章提到，机器人的想法并不是—个新概念，Karl Capek的作品里首先出现了这个概念，好莱坞也制作了许多关子这个主题的电影。据此判断，应选择D。

单选题 According to the author's description, Asimo ______.

A. is a four-legged robot
B. seems more like a human being than a machine in action
C. seems more like a machine than a human being in action
D. is in a sort of animal form

单选题 Sony's QRIO could perform all the following tasks EXCEPT ______.

A. walking everywhere freely
B. understanding some words uttered by people
C. finding its way
D. continuing walking after it stumbles

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 题目问：索尼公司的QRIO不可以执行下列哪项仟务？第三段“It walks, understands a small number of voice commands, and can navigate on its own. If it falls over, it gets up and resumes where it left off. It can even connect wirelessly to the internet and broadcast what its camera eyes can see.”通过这句话可知，QRIO能够走路，理解少数语言指令，依靠自己控制方向，跌倒了可以爬起来继续前进，能够将无线电连接到网络和广播。据此判断．应选择A。